An electro-optic device, such as an electro-optic IQ phase modulator, may be used to encode data, represented by a set of electrical signals, into the phase and/or amplitude of light as the light passes through the IQ phase modulator. In a typical IQ phase modulator (e.g., a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator), light (e.g., generated by a light source, such as a laser) is split between an I branch and a Q branch of the modulator, where each branch comprises a series of optical waveguides with a set of electrodes placed along (e.g., on, over, adjacent to, and/or the like) the series of waveguides. In order to enable IQ modulation, the portion of the light in the Q branch is put at 90 degrees (°) out of phase (i.e., at quadrature) from the portion of the light passing through the I branch. For example, respective parent DC biases may be applied to electrodes arranged on the I branch and/or the Q branch in order to introduce phase shifts that put the portion of the light in the Q branch at quadrature with the portion of the light in the I branch.
In the IQ modulator, the portions of the light are further split between arms of each branch (e.g., left and right arms of the I branch, and left and right arms of the Q branch). In order to encode data in each portion of the light while passing through the IQ phase modulator, a first electrical signal (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) signal) is differentially applied to electrodes on the left and right I arms (herein referred to as an I signal), while a second electrical signal is differentially applied to electrodes on the left and right Q arms (herein referred to as a Q signal). The I signal and the Q signal represent the data to be encoded in the phase and/or the amplitude of the light. Applying the I signal and the Q signal to the respective arms provides amplitude modulation of the light passing through the I and Q branches, respectively. The modulated portions of the light are then recombined in the modulator to form modulated output light. Here, the amplitude and/or the phase of modulated output light are a result of the application of the I signal and the Q signal and, thus, the modulated output light carries the data.